Fountain pen



July 8 1952 J. A. SMITH FOUNTAIN PEN Filed Nov. 15, 1946 INVENTO vHTTOENEV I Patented July 8, 1952 mes f James Smith,Nortl1'Hollywood,Calif; 51:" 1Appuai n'mw e 15, 4a s r fi ;1 m;-

d This invention relates'to'fountain'pens; and is directed particularlytoan improved arrangement for filling the ink reservoir. J I

[A major consideration in ft) nt'ain pen design is the, provision of tinne s liven oilfiaxiinuin filling the reservoircompletely.

It is a further object of this inventiojn -to provide a fountain penembodying an inkfreservoirhaving an ink intake passage which isindependent of the ink outlet .passagewhich feeds the pen point, therebypermitting the use of unidirectional flow type of pen point such, as,for

m eab ll point. v

It is another objectof this invention to provide a fountain penembodying an ink reservoir hi h may be comp e fill with y 5 ,0- cessivepumping strokes in; acontinuous operation. a

It is still, another object of this invention to provide a fountain penin which the reservoir may be completely filled by a comparativelysimple manipulationwhich may be easily performed Without disturbing therelationship of the ink in: take opening to the ink supply. Thisinvention possesses many" other advantages and has other objectswhichmay be. made morefieasily apparent from a consideration .of oneembodiment of the'invention. For. this purpose there is' showna-forminthe drawings. ac: companying and forming .part' of therpre'sen'tspecification. This form will now be described in detail; illustratingtheirgene'ral principles of theinvention; but'it is to'beunderstood thatthis detailed description is not 'tovbe taken inalimit ing'sense, sincethe scope of the invention: is best defined by the appended claims Inaccordance with this invention the pen barrel is constructed with arotatable van'e extending axially the full length of thebarrel'reservoir, and cooperating with a stationary radial partitionextending inwardly fromthe barrel wall to form an 'expansible inkreceiving chamber. I A first ink passage is'provided communicatingbetween the chamber and the upper end of the pen, and a second inkpassage is-vprovided communicating between the. chamber and the penpoint. Preparatory to filling the'chamber, the vane is first rotated inone direction until the chamber is of minimum volume. The pen is theninverted, the end including the first passage orifice is dipped into aninksupply, and thevane is rotated in the opposite directionto expand theI S CIaimS. (Cl. 120-46) chamber and create a' partial vacuum therein todraw'ink'intothebarrel reservoir. r

The second passage, communicating with the pen point, is so positionedthat during the filling operation-it is isolated from the ink chamber;being 'bro'ught into" registry withthe ink chamberfonlywvhen the vanehas been rotated to its final position providing maximum volume of thechamber; In this" manner, the pen point-ink passage is ineffective tobreak the suction created in the ink chamber duringthe fillingoperation. The vane is preferablymountecl on "a, hollow, central shaft;the conduit in the shaft forming an ink inlet passage communicatingbetweenthe inkchamber and the upper exterior'endof the pen. 'Aportcommunicates between the shaft passage and-the chamber near that end ofthebarrel adjacent the pen point, so that the ink; upon flowing into thechamber,-drops away from the port, thereby permitting repeated pumpingof the vane until the barrel reservoir is full of ink.

Referring nowto the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the pen; I

Figure 2 is an enlarged'longitudinal sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 3b and showing the ink receiving reservoir in the penbarrel;

Figures 3, 3a and 3b are sectional views taken. along line 3+3 in Figure2, illustrating three different positions of the rotatable vane whicheffects expansion and contraction of the ink receiving chamber; and

Figure 4 is asectional view taken'along line 4- of Figure-2c I Referringto Figures land 2, the pen comprises in---general a-cylindrical barrelll having a taperedextension 12 rotatably mounted on the upper'end'thereofand having a pen point It secured to the lower end thereof.The pen point may be-of the ball'type, including-a writing ball I 4protruding slightly from the tip.

Thejinterior} of the barrel I'I constitutes an ink reservoir 15extending throughout substantially the entire lengththereof, beingclosed at its upper end by a transverse partition I6 secured in sealedrelation to the barrel by the extension l2,'and being closed at itslower end by a transverse partitionl'l similarly secured to the barrelbyithe' pen point 13. A hollow shaft l8 extends the full length of thereservoir in coaxial rela-' tion thereto and is journaled at its lowerend in the partition H. The shaft extends" upwardly through a centralopening in "the upper partition l6 and through the extension E2. Thelatter is secured to the shaft, as by a press fit, so that the shaft maybe rotated by the extension;

"A radial vane I9 is secured to the shaft [8 andextends thefull lengthof the reservoir IS} The upper and lower ends of the vane have substan-.

tially fluid tight sealing engagement with the to divide the reservoirinto two separate chambers 2,2 and 22a, the relative volumes of whichmay be changed by rotation of the vane about its axis.

The interior of the hollow shaft l8 serves as an ink passage 23 whichcommunicates with the chamber 22 through a lateral port .24 adjacent thelower extremity of the shaft. For the purpose of showing the port 24 inFigure 2, it is shown therein as disposed diametrically opposite thevane Hi. It will be noted, however, by ref-' erence to Figures 3, 3a and31), that the port 24 is located closely adjacent the vane on the sidethereof communicating with the chamber .22.

The upper end of the passage 23 is open and forms an inlet port 25through which ink may be drawn'from an ink supply into the passage 23and thence into the chamber 22 upon rotation of the vane. I I

As previously stated, the extension I2 is nonrotatably secured to theshaft I8 so that the shaft and the vane l9 may be rotated by manualrotation of the extension. The extension is secured to the barrel II bya retaining ring 26 which permits relative rotation but prevents axialseparation of these elements. The upper protruding end of the shaft l8may be enclosed within a cap 21 detachably secured, as by a threadedconnection 28, to the upper extremity of the extension [2.

, An ink outlet port 3| is formed in the lower partition H to allow inkto flow from the reservoir into a conical well 32 in the pen point l3.The well 32 communicates with the writing ball l4 through a centralaxial bore 33, the upper portion of which is threaded to receive anadjustable control plug 34. As shown in Figure 4, the threaded portionof the control plug is provided with a plurality of axially extendingexternal grooves 35 forming ink passages. The

lower portion 36 of the plug 34 is of reduced diameter andhas formedintegrally therewith at its" lower end a control ball 31 of a diameterslightly less than that of the bore 33. The control ball limitsthe'inward displacement of the writing ball 14 from its seat in the tipof-the point 13, and thus by adjusting theposition of the control plug34 in the bore 33 the fiow of ink downwardly around the writing ball maybe adjustably controlled. A transverse slot 38 is formed in the head ofthe plug 34 to facilitate adjustment of the plug.

Referring to Figures 3, 3a and 3b, it will be observed that the outletport 3| is so located with respect to the radial partition 2| that it isisolated fromthe chamber 22 except when the vane l9 "isrotated. to thefinal position illustrated in Figure 3. In this manner communicationbetween the chamber 22 and the pen point is cut off during the fillingoperation, thus preventing intake of air through the pen point, and the.port 3! into the chamber 22 which, if it were permitted, would breakthe suction in the chamber 22 during the filling stroke of the vane. Itwill also be observed that the port 24 in the shaft I8 is locatedclosely'adjacent the vane IS on the trailing side thereof so as to be incommunication with the chamber 22 throughout the pumping stroke of thevane.

The ink reservoir is filled in the following manner:

After removal of the cap 21, the pen is inverted and the inlet port 25in the protruding end of the shaft 18 is dipped in the ink, the .penbeing conveniently held in this position by grasping the extension [2.Either the barrel or the extension is then rotated through slightly lessthan one revolution in the proper direction to effect rotation of thevane l9 relative to the barrel in the direction of the arrow 45 inFigure 3. The vane is thus rotated fromv the position'shown in Figure 3,which is the position it normally occupies during use of the pen, to theposition indicated in Figure 31). During this stroke of the vane the.air' in the chamber 22' is expelled through the port 24,th e'axialpassage 23 and the port 25. Thereafter the vane is rotated in theopposite direction, as indicated by the arrow 46 in Figure, 3b, toincrease the volume of the chamber 22. Inasmuchas the only communicationwith the chamber 22 during this pumping stroke is through the ports 24and 25 and passage 23 to the ink supply, the partial vacuum created inthe chamber by the increase in volume thereof causes ink to be drawnupwardly through the passage 23 and the port 24 and into the chamber.Practical design considerations and manufacturing tolerances prevent theformation of a perfect seal between the relatively slidable surfacesdefining the chamber 22, and hence there will be some loss of suctionduring the pumping stroke due to leakage of air from thechamber 22a intothe chamber 22. Consequently the chamber 22 will not be completelyfilled with inkby a single pumping stroke of the vane. Additional inkmay, however, be drawn into the reservoir by successive pumping strokesuntil the reservoir is filled. Upon reverse rotation of the vane any airin the chamber 22 above the ink therein is expelled through the ports 24and 25 and passage 23 and forms bubbles in the ink supply. When the vanereaches a mid-point, as indicated in Figure'Ba, the volume of thechamber 22 has been reduced to approximately one-half its maximumvolume, and, if it be assumed for example that'the chamher was halffilled with ink during the initial pumping stroke, the chamber will thenbe completely filled with ink and continued counterclockwise rotation ofthe vane would expel ink from the chamber. This conditionv is'indicatedby the cessation of formation of bubbles inthe ink supply. The vane isthen rotated fromthe intermediate position in a clockwise direction tothe final position shown in Figure 3. Upon successive repetitions of theforegoing operation the return strokes become successively shorter untilthe chamber is completely filled. The cap 21' is then applied to closethe port 25,'and the pen is ready for use.

From the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention it will be apparent that a fountain pen constructed inaccordance therewith possesses several outstandingadvantages. Not onlyis substantially the entire barrel utilizedas an ink reservoir, but thefilling mechanism is such as to permit the reservoir to be completelyfilled with ink. A pen of exceptionally large ink capacity is therebyprovided. By reason of the small numberof parts and their simple and,yet rugged construction, the pen is inexpensive to manufacture andiscapableoflong, trouble-free service.

I claim:

1. In a fountain pen: means forming a circular barrel; transverse endwalls respectively closing the opposite ends of said barrel; an elementextending axially of said barrel and rotatably supported by said endwalls; said element extending beyond one end of said barrel, a fixedradial partition extending longitudinally of said barrel between the endwalls and between said element and the wall of said barrel; a rotatablevane secured to said element to rotate therewith, extendinglongitudinally of said barrel between the end walls, and between saidelement and said wall, and cooperating with the fixed partition to forman expansible chamber, there being an outlet port from said chamberthrough one of said end walls and means forming an inlet into saidchamber through the other end wall and extended portion of said barrel.

2. In a fountain pen: means forming a circular barrel closed at itsopposite ends; a rotatable element' extending axially of said barrel; apair of radial vanes extending longitudinally of said barrel betweensaid element and the wall of the barrel, one of said vanes being fixed,the other vane being secured to rotate with said element, said vanescooperating to form an expansible chamber; said element providing apassage opening into said chamber to establish communication therewithat one end, there being a port establishing communication at the otherend.

3. In a fountain pen: means forming a circular barrel closed at itsopposite ends; a rotatable tubular element extending, axially of saidbarrel and projecting from one end thereof; a pair of radial vanesextending longitudinally of said barrel, between said element and theWall of the barrel, one of said vanes beingfixed, the other vane' beingsecured to rotate with said element, the vanes cooperating to form anexpansible chamber; said element opening into said chamber to providecommunication therewith, there being a port through one of said wallsalso adapted to provide communication with said chamber, said port beingspaced radially from said element so as to be controlled by therotatable vane.

4. In a fountain pen: means forming a circular barrel having transverseend closure walls; an element extending axially of said barrel androtatably supported by said end walls; said element extending outwardlyfrom one end of said barrel, a pair of radial vanes extendinglongitudinally of said barrel between said end walls and between saidelement and the wall of the barrel, one of said vanes being fixed, theother vane being secured to rotate with said element, said vanescooperating to form an expansible chamber of maximum volume at one limitof movement of said other vane, and of minimum volume at the other limitof movement; there being a discharge port in one of said end walls sopositioned as to communicate with said chamber only when said other vaneis adjacent, one of said limits of movement; and means extending throughsaid element and forming an inlet into said chamber. 7

5. In a fountain pen: means forming a circular barrel having transverseend closure walls; a tubular element extending axially of said barreland rotatably supported by said end walls; a pair of radial vanesextending longitudinally of said barrel between said end walls andbetween said element and the wall of the barrel, one of said vanes beingfixed, the other vane being secured to rotate with said element, saidvanes cooperating to form an expansible chamber; said tubular elementextending through one of said end walls and having a port opening intosaid' chamber adjacent the other end wall forming a passage establishingcommunication with said chamber,

.there being an opening through said other end wall forming a secondpassage for establishing 1; communication with said chamber.

6. In a fountain pen: means forming a circular barrel having transverseend closure walls; a

'- tubular element extending axially of said barrel and rotatablysupported by said end walls; a pair of radial vanes extendinglongitudinally of said barrel between said end walls and between said 1element and the wall of the barrel, one of said vanes being fixed, theother vane being secured to rotate with said element, said vanescooperating to form an expansible chamber; said tubular j elementextending through one of said end walls and opening into said chamber,forming a passage establishing communication with said chamher; amembersecured to said element externally of said barrel and throughwhich said element extends, said member being rotatably mounted on saidbarrel, as well as secured against axial movement with respect thereto;and a closure for rel, one of said vanes being fixed, the other vanebeing rotatable, said vanes cooperating to form an expansible inlrreceiving chamber in said barrel; means for operating said rotatablevane from the other end of the barrel; there being inletand outlet portsin said chamber, the outlet port feed- 7 ing ink to said pen point, theinlet port extending through said other end of the barrel.

8. In a fountain pen: means forming a circular barrel closed at itsopposite ends; means forming a pen point at one end of said barrel; apair of radial vanes extending longitudinally in said barrel, one ofsaid vanes being fixed, the other vane extension rotatably mounted onsaid barrel for operating said means to rotate said vane; there being apair of ports opening into said chamber,

one of said ports being connected in fluid transfer relation with saidpen point, the other port tension.

I JAMES A. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 304,275 Neif Aug. 26, 1884468,324 Brown Feb. 9, 1892 1,616,551 Rosenberg Feb. 8, 1927 1,620,345Haist Mar. 8,1927

1,725,163 Sigel Aug. 20, 1929 1,864,050 Myers June 21, 1932 2,208,588Laforest .July 28, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 461,361France 1913

